For the Sake of Breathing

Chapter Seventeen

  It has been almost three months since my parents, Silver, Silver's family, and my grandmother were all murdered by Ivan. It has been almost three months since I found out I have an older sister named Kaylo out there in the world, and it has been almost three months since I met Aven.
The front door to the apartment opens, and I peer over my shoulder, tensing as I always do. As usual, it's only Aven, returning from the farmer's market with food and supplies. "Hey," he greets, vanishing into the kitchen.
"Hey," I sigh softly, continuing to gaze out the window. My knees are tucked beneath me, and I sweep my black hair from my eyes. The wind rustles the near-transparent silk curtain, and my feet are stuck on the edges of the little window seat.
There's movement, and then Aven emerges again. "Are you having one of your bad days again?" he inquires.
I avoid his gaze, and merely nod.
Suddenly, the curtain is yanked back, and arms wrap around me. "Things will get better, I promise."
I nod, and the warm breeze dances across my face. The air is humid and in a cozy sense of neutrality.
Aven releases me after a moment, tense and awkward. We're still not exactly used to each other.
"There's some food in the kitchen. Want to come and make something to eat with me?"
"He told me to run."
Aven pauses, and I can picture him standing behind me, with a look of warm confusion on his face.
"He told me to run, right before that explosion."
The atmosphere of the room shifts so abruptly, I swear it could be physical. This always happens whenever one of mentions Ivan. His existence leaves a permanent scar in both of our lives. Sometimes I think that's why we feel obligated to stick with each other: We have a mutual enemy.
"He did?" Aven checks.
I nod, not tearing my eyes from the window. "He was warning me. Why?"
"I don't know. I don't know my brother. I used to, when we were kids. But a lot has changed since then."
I laugh quietly and humorlessly. "You don't say," I mutter flatly.
Aven touches my shoulder. "Come on," he urges gently.
I glance up at him, and his kind expression softens me. I hop out of the window seat and stand. He smiles at me.
He leads me into the kitchen, and we fix ourselves some sandwiches. Then we sit down on the couch, side-by-side, and allow a comfortable silence to fall between us. "So what does she look like? My sister, I mean?"
"She's taller than you, quite a bit tanner, and has poofy, wavy red hair. But other than that, you both look relatively similar, she just looks older," he explains. This is not the first time I've asked this question, and this is not the first time he has answered this question.
"Are we friends, Aven? Because I honestly don't know what I'd even refer to you as."
Aven laughs, and I feel myself instinctively smiling. "I can be anything you want me to be," Aven replies.
I nod, and grin at him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"I don't know, but thank you."
"You're...welcome?" he mutters stiffly, and then smiles warmly at me.
I chuckle, and nudge him affectionately, the way I often did with Silver.
The thought of Silver sends me a bolt of fresh pain, and my laughter dies.
Aven recognizes my expression, and his face becomes sympathetic. "I'm sorry he took them away from you."
"I just want to know what caused him to hate you so much that he killed so many people," I mumble.
"I think he used to compare himself to me. He always thought I was better than him for some reason."
I fight back the urge to say, but you are better than him.
I fold my legs up to my stomach, and stare at the blank, white-washed wall. "So why'd we get this apartment again?"
"Because I think we should at least have a place to settle in for a while, since we're looking for Kaylo. I think we should at least have place to call home."
I glance around the near-bare apartment, and wonder how this will ever be home.
Then I peer over at Aven, and the answer becomes clear. This physical place may not be home, but I suppose being with Aven can be my new home.
I finish my sandwich, and sit up straight. I suddenly feel dizzy. Blinking, I try to see if it clears my vision. It does not clear. I stick my arms out to steady myself, but I still end up falling back into the couch.
"Are you okay?" Aven inquires, sounding suddenly concerned.
"Yeah, I'm just... dizzy...?"
Aven reaches for me, but as soon as he touches me, I hear him gasp and repeal. "God, Emica! You're burning up!"
"I am?"
"What is your temperature?" I hear him shuffling around.
Suddenly, something is stuck into my mouth.
"Oh. My. God. Emica, I need to get you to a hospital."
I'm being carried. I hear our front door close, and feel Aven running down steps. I realize he's wearing gloves. "What's my temperature?"
"Two hundred eighty."
I should be dead. Panic rises inside of me. "But. Other than my dizziness... I feel fine..."
The open air swirls in around us, and it whistles in my ears. We're outside.
"Yes, hi, could you contact an ambulance?" Aven asks in a hurried voice.
"What's wrong with her?" a woman's voice asks.
"Don't touch her, you might burn your hand," Aven suddenly orders.
"What-- is that why you're wearing gloves?"
I'd imagine he nods, for she musters: "What's her temperature?"
"Two hundred eighty," Aven answers.
I hear her messing around with her headset. "Yes, I need an ambulance. I am outside the Elecan Complex. There's a girl with a temperature of two hundred eighty, and somehow she's alive..."
She stops. "They're on their way."
I hear Aven sigh. "Alright."
He adjusts his grip on me several times before the sirens wail in the distance.
I'm being carried on a stretcher. I feel a gloved hand firmly grab my bare hand. "Are you her guardian?" I hear someone ask.
"Not legally. But yeah."
"Well, you're about to legally be in charge of her. How old is she?"
"Fifteen."
"How many months?"
"Seven."
"What's her name?"
"Emica Noon."
"Hold on, what?"
"Her name is Emica Noon," Aven repeats.
"This girl has been missing for almost three months."
"She has?"
"She's involved in one of the largest cases in the nation!"
"I am?" I blurt, confused.
"Somebody ice her!"
Suddenly, the coldest thing in the history of forever is dumped all over me. I squeal like mad.
"Her temperature isn't going down!" a male voice hollers.
Someone touches my forehead, and I hear them scream. "My glove is on fire!!" a woman screeches.
"Her blood should be boiling!" a nurse exclaims.
"Is it?" the woman talking to Aven cuts in.
"No!"
"We're at the hospital."
My vision clears.
I sit straight up, puzzled. "I'm fine..."
I meet gazes with Aven, who looks nearly white with his concern. "Aven, I feel fine..."
The stretcher catches on fire.
I scream, and Aven grabs me. I find myself sitting on the floor.
My clothes are burning.
Someone is hosing me down with water.
"Is this a dream?" I find myself asking. "I'm not even burnt."
I am now being dragged into a room. Something spews fumes into my face, and after fumbling dizzily again, I lose consciousness.